


Three is a crowd

by GJBN



Category: Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: F/M, Inspired by The Walking Dead, M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-03
Updated: 2014-08-20
Packaged: 2018-02-07 07:21:23
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 16,252
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1890009
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GJBN/pseuds/GJBN
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The story is about Daryl and Ricks relationship. Ive chosen to add a new female caracter. It takes place at the prison. Im not using the Governor or Woodbery etc. Its just the people at the prison and I adapt those to the story as it fits in with my thoughts.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Three is a crowd!  
Chapter 1.

”Im in love with Daryl Dixon! Daryl fucking Dixon! ”  
Not the smartest move on my part. But Id never been very smart when it came to the men I fell in love with. This time though, it seemed to be just boardering on ridiculous…not in an at all funny way. Firstly because it was Daryl. The man who trusted close to no one, the loner, the one who flinched if he had to brush past someone in a narrow hallway, the man who was acting more like a porcupine than anything else. Except of course with Judith, Carl and Rick which was the second reason this was so ridiculous. Daryl and Rick were in a very commited relationship. They were just…perfect together. Alpha-males as they both were, leaders of their small group. They’d announced their relationship to the few in the group who hadn’t already spotted the very clear signs, the looks they constantly gave eachother, how they always first turned to eachother and light up when the other one entered the room. And everyone was happy for them. Perhaps in the old world some would have taken offense. But then in the old world it wasn’t likely that Daryl and Ricks ways would ever have crossed.  
So I was in love with an already taken man. At first I’d brushed it a side as an attraction. It had been a very long time since I’d looked at a man that way. It wasnt exactly high on the list of priorities when you were fighting walkers, raiding houses for the last scraps of food left etc. When we came across the prison and settled down here after slowly clearing a cellblock at a time and started feeling somewhat secure again, we also slowly started feeling other things than hunger, fear, urgensy etc again. For 6 months I’d told myself that it was just an attraction, nothing more. It couldnt be that I was in love with him ’cause I wasnt in the least jealous of Rick. I would be if it was more than an attraction, right? What finally made me have to get real with myself was something as stupid as a cup of tea.  
Carol had handed me my usual cup of tea in the morning and had accidentially let the cup drop before I’d gotten a proper grip on it. The boiling hot liquid splashed up on my hand which turned a violent red and blisters started forming at once. I couldnt help out yelling out loud from the sudden pain. Carol nearly screamed with fright and guilt. Daryl had been leaning up against the wall, talking to Hershel. He immidiatly came running over and grabbed my wrist and yanking my burned hand into the bucket of cold water next to the hearth. As soon as Daryl grabbed my writst, I forgot about the burning stinging pain and just foccussed on his hand on my wrist. I could feel the calluses, the scratches he always seemed to have and I could feel the heat of his body against mine. Involountarily I closed my eyes and leaned into him. He took that as a sign of my being in pain. He grabbed the bucket and told me brusqly to follow him over to the chairs where he sat me down, still forcing my hand in the cold water. ”Leave it in there for the next 30 min” he said ”and then let Herschel give you some of the burn-ointment we found last week”. He then stalked off in his usual Daryl-way towards the sleeping-cells.  
This was about a month ago. Since then the burn had healed but my heart on the other hand was an entirely different matter. I’d been forced to acknowledge that my feeling were more than a mere attraction. I was so annoyed with myself for letting this happen. It seemd to only be getting worse. Now when Daryl was staing infront of me in the foodline, i couldnt help but breathe in his very destinct scent. Masculine, earthly, gasoline, warm, spicy. When I closed my eyes in my cell at night, I could recall that scent and it send little shock-waves through me every single time.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2.

I was never really one to be considered for the runs outside the prison. I was too scared. One thing was being scared to the point of being extra alert. I was scared to the point of freezing up whenever there were walkers nearby. It was a danger to everyone, myself included. Instead I tried to pull my weight within the prison premisis. The cooking, the laundry, the garden, taking care of Judith etc. I suppose I’d fallen right into the ”gender-trap” after the world changed. Before I’d been quite the feminist activist. I still was a feminist, only I was more scared of the walkers than I was a feminist. I knew Michonne, Carol and Megan were as skilled as the men in protecting themselves and eachother against the walkers. It was just my problem. The others had on numerous occasions assured me it was perfectly fine that I didnt go out on the runs. I was suspecting them of secretly being quite relieved.  
One one of the last hauls Daryl and Glenn had managed to catch 4 free roaming chickens and a rooster on an abandoned farm. Apparently Glenn wasnt the most experienced of chicken-hunters ’cause Daryl had been laughing quietly to himself several times during the evening after they’d returned. Something about a ditch full of nettles and Glenn running after the rooster instead of waiting quietly until they came close enough to catch.   
Rick and Carl had taken great pride in building a chicken coop for the new feathered family. We all thought it would be chicken for dinner but Daryl had looked at us with one of those exasperated looks, like he really didnt know how we had survived this long with the obvious lack of survival skill we possesed. ”Not for eating, you fools!” he grumbled. ”No, we’ll get eggs every day and next year they will give us chickens for dinner.” Indeed he was right. Daryl ususally were. And with so many rooms in the prison being really cold, we could even store the eggs so we about once a week had enough for omelets for everyone. A most welcome change from all the canned and pickled food we ususally had, when we hadnt been lucky with the snares.   
It had fallen on me to take care of the chickens. Well, I’d taken on the resposibility as it gave me a little less of a guilty conscience for not going on the runs. I quite enjoyed going out to the chicken coop in the mornings and hear them welcoming me. I’d named the rooster Jasper. Another thing that made Daryl shake his head at me. I often had a feeling he didnt really take me seriously and Jasper had added to this feeling. But I enjoyed it none the less.  
This morning I was on my way down to the chicken coop with bread crumbs and some mouldy pickled onions. I was walking in my own thoughts when I turned the corner of the big yellow schoolbus laying on its side and stopped dead in my tracks. Daryl and Rick were leaning up against the buss, on the side of it where they wouldnt be spotted from the prison. Daryl was pressing Rick up against the buss and they were kissing passionatly. Rick had his hands up Daryls shirt and Daryls hands were burried in Ricks hair. They were both breathing heavily. I could immidiately feel a violent blush kreeping up my neck and onto my face. At the same time I could feel a heavy pull low in my body. God, they were so erotic! I was backing away, hoping they wouldnt spot me before I could get out of site. I knew I’d have a lot of problems looking them both in the eye if they knew I’d seen them. No such luck. Daryl broke the kiss and looked at me, like he wasnt at all surprised I was there. He didnt look offended or put his hands in his pockets like he usually did when he was uncomfortable. Instead he took his hands out of Ricks hair and let them fall to the mans waist and gave me a little lopsided smile. Rick didnt removed his hands from what they were doing underneath Daryls shirt, he also smiled at me and said ”Morning.” I hurried past them, now dark red in my face, I was sure and looked down, mumbling ”Morning”. I almost ran the rest of the way to the chicken coop and never had I been so happy to see Jasper.  
I stayed in the chicken coop until I’d heard Daryls bike and the car with the others drive out the gate. I wouldn’t have known how to face Daryl and Rick right now. Fortunately Jasper seemed up for some cuddles. The rooster had taken a liking to sitting on my lap while I strocked his golden chest feathers. Id had pets my whole life and even though I knew Japser wasnt tecnically a pet, I still enjoyed the time I could spend with him and the chickens.  
When I finally went back inside and gave the eggs to Carol, I excused myself with a migraine and went up to my cell. I needed some time to myself and ponder whatever feelings it was that I had for Daryl. What made me feel the strangest was that I wasnt jealous. I mean, I wasnt jealous of Rick. I should have been if I was in love with Daryl, shouldnt I? I didnt feel jealous when I’d seen them kiss and make out behind the buss this morning. Instead I felt turned on. What the hell was that all about?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again I will state that this is my first fanfic ever. Ive been so inspired by the many beautiful Rickyl stories on here. I try to make this story my own. Its actually a lot harder than I thought. But Im pleased with the result so far.   
> English is not my first language so please be tolerant of any spelling or grammar mistakes.


	3. Chapter 3

Capter 3

I must have fallen asleep in the darkness of the cell. Not for the first time I was really pleased that Maggie and Glenn had found all those hideous orange curtains after raiding a school. We didnt really get the idea when they came back from the run and were paratically burried in ugly orange fabric to the point of it actually flapping out the windows in the passenger side. Maggie roled her eyes at the line of people looking like question marks and Daryls mumbled comment about orange burkas. ”For the cell doors of course”, she said. ”It will keep the cells warmer and give us all some privacy”. With ”us” she natually meant her and Glenn. We would all appriciate those two getting some more privacy. I think everyone had at some point walked past their shared cell in a more than awkward moment. Even poor Carl who’d looked like a ghost for a couple of days afterwards. So now every occupied cell had 2 curtains on top of eachother over the cell door. Maggie had been right. It did feel so much warmer in the cells now. And the curtains muted the sounds from both the nearby cells and the rest of the prison space as well. A strike of genious on Maggies part and no, she’d never let us live that down.  
I knew people would start wondering if I was okay had I remained cooped up in my cell all day. Also I couldnt avoid Daryl and Rick entirely. I sighed and pushed myself up from the bunk and left for downstairs. Carol had started preparing dinner and I helped her out. We worked well together without having to talk much. We had recently build a smoking oven from some old barrels. When Daryl came back with a boar, the oven had really proved its worth. Now the meat would stay fresh for much longer when smoked and stored away in the basement of the cell block we didnt live in. Daryl kept insisting that the squirrels he brought home, would taste exellent if we smoked them. No one was really too interested in trying that out. We had all lived off the squirrels but it wasn’t something that any of us wanted to eat if there were other choices. Tonight another piece of the boar would be our dinner.  
I knew the people from the run had come back ’cause I’d said hi to Glenn and I’d seen boxes of stuff in the corner of the cafeteria. I went over to investigate and I was so excited to see that 2 of the boxes contained a lot of unopened bottles of shampoo. I knew everyone, except for Daryl who didnt prioritise these things, had been longing to use something other than the sharply smelling caustic soap that we’d found in the bathrooms when we first arrieved at the prison. I opened one of the bottles and smelled roses, literally. Oh how I looked forward to taking a shower and come out smelling like roses! I smiled a bit to myself, thinking of how Daryl would complain about smelling ”like a damn whore-house” if Rick forced him to take a bath with this shampoo. Gees, I really had to stop letting Daryl pop up in my every thought. I told Carol that I’d carry some of the boxes to our storage area in the other cell block.   
The boxes of shampoo were heavier than I’d expected so I was mumbling to myself when I turned around a corner in the other cell block. I guess I couldnt hear other noises over my own voice. The second time on the same day I walked in on Rick and Daryl. Rick was up against the wall and had one hand down the front of Daryls pants. Daryl were supporting himself on the wall with a hand on either side of Ricks head. His head was tilted back a bit and he moaned out loud. It was the most sexy scene I’d ever come across. Those 2 would be the end of me if I continued to walk in on them like that. They were like teenagers, not being able to keep their hands off eachother. Usually they were very descret about their relationship ’cause they would both rather die than embarrass Carl. It hadnt been easy for Carl to adapt to the new reality of his dad suddenly being in a relationship with his own best friend. Daryl and Carl had such a strong bond. Daryl was undoubtedly Carls heroe. A lone wolf, mystery man, carrying his cross bow like it was a natural extension of his arm. What teenage boy wouldnt idolize him? It was a little funny how Daryl didnt see that at all. He wasnt affraid to let his guard down with Carl. They goofed around. Daryl seemed to have Carl in a headlock at least once a day while Rick looked at them exasperated but with a look of pure love in his face. When Daryl and Rick had made their relationship official, Carl had felt betrayed. Both on his mothers behalf and because he felt he had to look at Daryl in a different way. Rick and Daryl had handled it in absolute textbook manner. Rick had made clear, not in words that Daryl were not going anywhere. And Daryl had treated Carl in the exact same manner as before. Eventually it seemed that Carl felt certain that nothing had actually changed for him. Still Daryl and Rick were extremly respectful towards Carl. He was after all a teenage boy in an apocalyptic world. No need to make it more difficult for him than nessecary.  
So there I was, looking at those two and the words came out of my mouth before I realised that I’d even thought them ”Oh get a room, you two!” That was so unlikely of me to say that, especially to those two. I wasnt the same as before the turn. I suppose none of us were. Id taken to being very quiet and staying in the background. I prefered not to have the others pay too much attension to me. So I surprised myself by saying out loud what had just come to mind.   
Rick looked at me with a grin. He wasnt even surprised I was there and I could see his hands down Daryls pants, still moving. Daryl looked me straight in the eye, looking very serious. Id was ready to put my head down and run past them with my shampoo boxes when Daryls arm came out, almost snake-like in speed and grabbed me around the elbow. He pulled me in to his own body and planted his lips on mine. I was in shock! I just stood there. Stiff as a board and let him kiss me. I let him kiss me! I was too shocked to even respond. I didnt even close my eyes. Neither did he. His eyes were so blue. Almost cornflower blue. Usually he´d frown and keep his head down so Id never realised how blue those eyes were. And his lips. They covered mine to perfection. Soft and the stubbles of his beard tickled me gently around my mouth. I hadnt noticed that my mouth were a little bit open until the tip of his tongue slipped in and cought my own. He tasted of cigarettes, heat, and very much the special taste of himself. My knees started to buckle a bit when I noticed that I could feel Rick was still very much moving in Daryls pants. Daryl not so much moaned inside my mouth as he sighed with a little sound. I pulled away. I couldnt do this what ever it was. What if someone came around the corner? And what the hell was Daryl thinking? What was Rick thinking? Daryl let me go as soon as I started to pull away. Finally I managed to make it past them and stalked down the corridor towards the stairs with my boxes.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4  
The rest of the day was rather uneventful. At least on the surface. Inside me everything was a turmoil. My thoughts were all over the place. When I returned from the storage area, I took the long way around the cell block so I wouldnt run into Daryl and Rick again. I couldnt handle more of those two and their passion for one day. I dreaded seeing them both at dinner. It was more or less unsaid that we all sat in the same places around the table every night. I happend to have the spot across the table from Daryl and next to him was Rick. There was no way I could avoid them. If I said I had another migraine, then Carol or Beth would set Herschel on me. So I had to be at dinner. Nothing was out of the ordinairy. I just felt like everyone should be able to see that I’d kissed Daryl or rather that he’d kissed me and that we’d done so while Rick was obviously jerking Daryl off. Just thinking this sounded nuts. Of course I couldnt continue starring at my plate all through the meal and when I looked up, I looked right into Daryls expressionless blue eyes. They weren’t cold, just expressionless. A quick side-glance to Rick, he was also looking at me and he smiled. Not a knowing smile or seductive or suggestive, just a kind warm smile. I couldnt understand how he could smile at me like this, like nothing had happened. I had kissed his partner in full view of him! How could he not hate that thought?  
Things had gotten quiet in the prison almost an hour ago. Of course I couldn’t sleep. I was in my cell, with one of our precious candles still light. I’d attempted to read. I was doing a good job at going through nearly every book in the prison library. I was so thrilled when I’d discovered the selection of books was actually quite good. But tonight I couldn’t concentrate. I sighed and put the book down when I realised that I’d actually read the same page several times and couldn’t recall one single word on it. No use. So I just laid there and starred at the top bunk for a while. I was happy that there were plenty of cells so we didn’t have to share, unless we wanted to. Of course Glenn and Maggie were in the same cell. Daryl and Rick had officially moved in together after their relationship were made official. They also had Judith in the cell but often she was also with Carl, Beth or Carol. Everyone wanted to spend time with this little girl. She was the ray of sunshine for all of us in a warped world. I’d tried to make my cell a little homely, give it a bit of personality. It wasnt easy with grey walls and bars but the orange curtains, ugly as they might be, actually helped. I also occasionally found a few wild flowers on the premisses which I enjoyed havning in a vase on the small table next to my bunk. I’d found some pretty shiny rocks in the ground from time to time. I’d put them in a simple glass bowl from the kitchen. It wasnt like the prison offered many pretty things. So these bits were just little pieces of pretty and perhaps of normalcy.   
I hadn’t heard any noises from the other cells for a long time. I wondered if Daryl and Rick were sleeping. If they were cuddled up together in the bunk. If they were kissing. If they….no I would drive myself nuts if I kept entertaining those thoughts. But I couldn’t stop thinking about that kiss. Why had Daryl kissed me? Okay, I knew I wouldn’t be able to sleep and I needed to know what was going on, now would be as good a time as any. At least now no one would be wondering why I’d be standing infront of Daryl and Ricks cell if I lost the courage to knock on the bars. On purpose I didnt put my boots on as I left my cell. The metal landing would be sending my steps out to all corners of the facility, especially at this quiet hour, if I had my boots on. Somehow the way to the guys cell weren’t nearly as long as it usually felt. Not that I’d ever been in their cell but I’d dropped of clean laundry infront of it often enough. I could see a faint orange glow through the heavy curtains and hear quiet muttering. They were not a sleep. I didn’t know whether I was relieved or the opposite. Before I could change my mind, I tapped lightly on the bars. The voices went quiet and soon the curtain was pulled aside. Daryl. He looked at me and then said ”You crazy woman! You can’t be outthere without boots or at least socks on. You will catch a cold and you know how mad Herschel gets if one of us falls ill!” He pulled me into the cell by the arm and let the curtain fall behind me. Now I didn’t know what to do or say. ”Well, don’t just stand there. Get over here” once again he pulled me by the arm towards the bed. They actually had a bed. Apparently they had removed the bunks and replaced them with wooden pallets ontop of which they had placed the mattresses. I supose it was quite clever. It couldn’t be fun to be squeezed together in the bunk if it was every night. I noticed that Judith wasn’t in the cell and remembered Beth having insisted it was her turn to house the baby overnight. Rick was sitting on the bed, popped up against the corner. Daryl was getting back on the bed and pulled me with him. He had his pants on but was barefoot and shirtless. Strangly this man with all the hard edges had such beautiful slim feet. Yeah, I looked at his feet because I sure as hell was not going to look at his bare chest. I stumbled on to their bed and sat down next to Daryl ’cause that was where he pulled me down. He immidiatly started wrapping the blanket around me feet. Rather brusquely. Daryl did most things brusquely so it was difficult to tell if he was annoyed with me or not. If he was, wouldn’t he just have send me away? Not made me come into their cell?  
”Are you okay?” Rick asked quietly and looked at me. ”Yeah, I am…I just..I couldn’t sleep. Ive not…well, it’s…” I said while I was thinking that both guys must secretly be shaking their heads at me. I mean it wasn’t exactly like it was an answer to Rick’s question. ”You want to know what today was about?” once again it was Rick who spoke. Not surprisingly as Daryl wasn’t the talker in the pair. ”Yeah, I don’t get it” I said. ”I mean you guys are so much a couple. So obviously in love. I’ve seen that up close and personal twice just today”. Once again Rick was the one who spoke. Daryl had finished wrapping my feet and were now leaning up against the wall next to me. I prefered to look at Rick. I was though extremly aware of Daryl be so close that I could feel the heath of his body and the fact that he was shirtless. I’d looked at his muscular arms often enough. So often that I suspected I’d actually developed an arm-fetish. But I hadn’t seen his chest, the skin on his chest, his nipples before and I couldn’t focus if I did, I knew that. ”Well, we know that you have a…..thing for Daryl” Rick said to which I blushed furiously. ”We both care about you a lot, Brigitte. Please don’t think differently. Daryl and I have something wonderful. That doesn’t mean we don’t also still like women. I don’t think either of us are actually gay, only when it comes to eachother.” Daryl said firmly ”I ain’t gay!” And I actually believed them. I mean Rick had been married to Lori for many years and Daryl…well, I had no clue about Daryl before all of this so I didn’t have any reason to not believe him. ”So what?” I said. ”You want to…have sex with me? To..what? I still don’t….” ”For starters I want to do this” Daryl said and leaned in and kissed me. I wasn’t quite as shocked this time. But that wasn’t the same as my not being surprised. This kiss wasn’t quite a gentle this time. It was more burning, more passionate. His tongue as so hot. I was suprised what a great kisser he was. He moved his arm around me and pulled me towards him. Because he’d wrapped my feet up in the blanket, i wasn’t able to push myself towards him. I more or less fell onto him and placed a hand on his chest. Oh my! So warm and muscular. ”Come here!” he said and pulled me up onto his lap so I straddled him. And he kissed me again. I didn’t know what to do with my arms until they somehow found their own way aound his neck. Since I still didn’t understand what was going on, I decided I might as well enjoy this. It might very likely be the very last time I would ever be kissed. What with the world having come to and end and all. So I let my hands slide up into his hair. Daryl was such an amazing kissers. I didn’t think that just ’cause it had been a long time since I’d been kissed. He was so gentle, yet his tongue was firm and explored my mouth to the point of my almost not being able to catch my breath. He held my face between both hands while we kissed, I kept thinking how warm he felt. I pulled back from the kiss and looked at his face. How could I ever have thought he was expressionless? There was so much passion in his eyes. So much heat! I once again felt that special pull between my legs. Pulling my hands out of his hair, I let them run over his shoulders. I was having a small shoulder fetish. Daryls shoulders were so wide and almost perfectly square. Id often caught myself looking at his back, wanting to put my hands on his shoulders. Now they were. My hands. On his shoulders. All while I was still looking at his face, the features Id only been stealing glanses of. Now I could look at him. It beat me how not everyone were attracted to him. He was such a manly man. Nothing feminine about him, not in the way he behaved or how he looked. My hands ran slowly down his arms. Touching them confirmed what I already knew. Rock solid muscles. Defined. Not the kind people get from working out. Daryls muscles came from working hard, from using his body to survive. When he and his brother had joined the group to begin with, Daryl was in good shape. But over time we had all lost weight, all gotten leaner. Daryl were now all muscle. When my hands reached his hands, he spread his fingers and interlaced them with mine. I bend down and pressed a kiss on his left collarbone. Let my tongue run along it until I reached the hollow between the bones. My tongue played down the hollow which earned me the first sound of pleasure from Daryl. I felt one hand in my hair when he pulled my head backwards. Of course Daryl couldn’t know this but having my hair touched was a major turn on for me. It send little sparks out through my body. Suddenly I felt his tongue lick up the lenght of my throat. Holy hot hell! Teeth were biting me along my neck and on the back of my jeans his other hand were lingering just inside the waistband. Like he was waiting for some sign that it was okay to continue. It was okay, more than okay. I groaned out loud a little bit and apparently it was the sign Daryl had been waiting for cause his hand slid down my jeans and cupped my bottock. This went on for a little while until I thought I would be the one to take it further. I slid my hands up his chest and said ”You are so unbelievably warm!”


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Rick snorted behind me. Id completly forgotten about him and felt more than a little embarressed when I looked at him. He was still sitting popped up against the corner. I know I blushed furiously. Rick just continued to smile and said ”That’s what Im saying all the time, how he is so unbalievably warm!” Daryl huffed and decided to end the conversation but sliding his hands up the front of my shirt and reached my breasts. I knew he could feel my nipples through the fabric of my bra. Just a plain cotton bra. I wished sexy underwear was something I still had. The apocalypse made underwear about convinience, not about sexy. Daryl didnt seem to notice or at least he didn’t seem to care ’cause he made a move to pull my shirt over my head. And leaned forward and took my right nipple between his teeth through the fabric of the bra. I couldn’t help but moan. It was exactly the right pressure, hurting the right way, not too much. He used the other hand to unclasp the bra on my back and threw it on the floor. Cupped both my breast and let his thumbs flip back and forth cross them. It was almost too much. Almost. He burried his face between my breasts and used one arm to pull me towards him. The front of my body was now leaning up the front of his, I was sitting directly above his crotch and could feel that he wasn’t deffinately not unaffected about the recent activities.   
I heard Rick move a bit and when I turned to look at him, I saw that he’d unbuttoned his jeans and was pulling himself free from his boxers. I suddenly felt very insecure. Was the plan that Rick would join Daryl and me? Was I ready for this? Never in my life had I been involed in a threesome, nor had I ever felt inclined to. Daryl noticed my discomfort and moved his hips a bit, making the bulge in his pants scrape against me through the 2 layers of both of our pants. Rick was immidiately cast out of my mind. I paid Daryl back by grinding myself hard against his bulge, making him pant a little. After having felt the bulge grow to something that had to be painful to have confined in jeans, I in any case really wanted to see. To touch. As if Daryl had read my mind, he grabbed me around the waiste and in one swift movement turned me over and around onto my back. Not hesitating he opened my jeanes and pulled them off. He really had some surprisingly smooth moves that left me almost breathless. I reached out to undo the bottons in Daryls jeans but he just batted my hands away, undid the bottons and moved to take them off, again earning a chuckle from Rick behind us. Again Daryl huffed. Apparently the speed was a private joke between them. I couldn’t say that I gave a damn at the moment ’cause Daryl didn’t wear underwear. I’d never allowed myself to think in the ways of whether he did use underwear or not but if I had, he would have lived up to any expectation that I’d had. He was beautiful. There was no other sufficient word for it. The square of his shoulders, the muscular arms, the flat of his stommack, how his bellybutton was nearly a vertical slit, the bit of blond hair on his tanned chest leading down to the line of hair below his bellybutton. I was never a fan of the intimate shaving-trend. I wanted a man to look like a man, below the belt as well. Now after the turn I doubted many people were having this on their list of priorities. Somehow I couldn’t imagine it ever having been on Daryls list. His cock was large and very very hard. I reached out to touch it and the skin was like velvet. I had to close my eyes, it was too much to take in. He was there and he was beautiful and he was very very ready.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

He laid down next to me, popped up on his elbow and leaned in for a kiss. I reached out to let my hands slide over his back. Immidiately he took my hands away. We had all seen the misfuring scars he had all over his back. No one had ever mentioned them. Daryl wouldn’t have liked to explain them to us. Rick said softly ”Daryl!” Daryl looked up and their eyes met. There was some unspoken communication going on between them and then he let my hands go, bend over in another kiss. I gently put my hands on his back and let my fingers follow one of the long raised lines. The scars didn’t make him any less beautiful, they were just part of the man he was. I pulled back a little from the kiss and looked him in the eye while continuing to follow the lines on his back. I didn’t want him to see pity in my eyes but only the need for him, the want I felt. I know he saw just that ’cause he came down hungry for my mouth and plunged his tongue inside. I couldn’t help but moan a bit. I had never been as turned on by something as relatively innocent as a kiss. Although there was nothing innocent about it. It was like passionate sex took place in my mouth. Involountarily my hips lifted up a bit. That made Daryl giggle a little inside my mouth.”Eager” me mumbled. He let his free hand slide across my breats, pinching my nipples in turn, making them feel tender and eager for more. His large warm hand slided up and down between my breasts several times. How did this quiet man know all my erogenous zones? Across my belly and his hand stopped at the lining of my pants. He looked at me, obviously wanting permission which I gave him by pulling him down to me by the neck. Daryl slides his hands underneath the pantyline and just places his hand there. For some reason it feels amazing, him not doing anything else but kiss me and have his hand rest quietly on me. Suddenly his indexfinger slides in between my labia and I sink my short nails into his back and kling to him. ”You are so wet”, he says, sounding almost wondering if it was how it was supposed to be. His finger starts moving back and forth almost not touching that little bundle of nerves that felt on fire. I was panting out loud. I knew I ought to reach down and grab hold of Daryls cock. I could feel it warm and throbbing against my tigh but I couldn’t focus on anything but Daryls fingers. He moved to my entrance, using the wet to smear over my clit. Damn….I swear if nothing else happened this alone would make me orgasm very very quickly. I started pulling Daryl on top of me, I needed to feel him on me. He wasn’t heavy like I expected, he just fit there perfectly. I spread my legs and as he sunk in between them, I grabbed his buttocks. He started thrusting his cock agains my still panty covered parts. Oh my God, this was….I could feel almost every part of it through the wetness. I wanted him inside me! I wanted to feel myself expand as he pushed himself into me. He almost growled ”Off!” as he leaned to the side and started pulling at my panties. I lifted up my hips and let him pull the fabric down. I was suddenly feeling very exposed, like the thin layer of fabric had been a wall to what was happening. I didn’t get much time to consider this ’cause Daryl was coming down on my lips full force. There was nothing gentle about his kiss now. I couldn’t help but give a little yelp of pain when his finger slid inside me. It had been a very long time since anything had touched me there. As wet as I knew I was, it still hurt a little bit. I forgot about the pain soon enough as Daryl quickly found that special little spot and let his finger flick over it. Involountarily I bucked my hips up against him. ”Daryl….” was all I managed to get out. ”Hang on” he said as he pulled his finger out. I wasn’t at all happy about this. He leaned across me and started throwing around his pants that were on the floor, until he found his pocket and fished out a….condom…this was a man that came prepared! ”Where the hell do you always get condoms, Daryl?” Rick asked, the amusement clear in his voice. ”Steal them from Magggie and Glenns stash” Daryl mumbled as he tore the package open. ”Maggie tells Glenn off all the time ’cause she thinks he is losing them” he smirked. Both rick and I laughed a bit ’cause we’d all heard Glenn trying to explain, in a hushed voice, to Maggie why there were no condoms left in the box when the day before there’d been 2 in there. So Daryl was the condom-thief.  
I looked at him as he was getting ready to put it on his cock. The head was wet with pre-cum. I reached out and let my indexfinger gently glide along the slit, feeling the silky skin. Daryl pull in air fast, batted my hand away. It could end up a habbit, him batting my hand away. I wondered briefly if he did the same thing with Rick. I didn’t think he would be any less impatient with the man.   
Quickly the condom was rolled down to the root. He grabbed himself and started moving the head up and down, from my clit to my entrance. I was all tingles. I felt like every bit of me was on fire. ”Daryl, please” I whispered. He started pushing his way inside me. When the tip was in, he stopped to let me adjust and leaned in for a gentle kiss. This man was all contrast. He was gentleness, passion, roughness, compassion. I positioned my legs around his back. I wasn’t willing to wait. I wanted all of him inside me, moving. When he started moving, I couldn’t help but moan for as long as the movement lastest. How was I supposed to be quiet during this? He pulled out almost all the way and pushed back in a little more forcefully. Again and again. Soon he was pounding into me. I could feel my toes curl. This was perfect. Beyond anything I could have imagined, even if I’d tried. His balls were tight and slapping against me with every stroke. I pulled him down by his hair for a kiss. Turned his head so I could bite his neck, the skin on his collarbone. Not hard enough to break the skin but hard enough to leave a few marks. I’d noticed teeth marks on his neck and shoulders before, knowing Rick had been the one making them. I wanted to leave a bit of me on him as well. He was so slient. Just breathing hard. I wanted to hear him, to hear that this was a good for him as it was for me. But somehow I wasn’t surprised that Daryl was quiet during sex. He was quiet in most things he did so why not now. He positioned himself a bit differently and was hitting my spot with every single stoke. My legs started shaking, I was…. Exploding! I could feel myself pulling tight around him which finally pulled a sound from him. An almost animal like raspy sound, accompanied with a few final thrusts. And the he let himself sink down on me, pinning me to the mattress. I didn’t mind. I knew Daryl wasn’t mine so I’d take what I could get in this moment. And right now it was the weight of his body, his hard muscles that I could feel relaxing, his warm breath on the side of my neck, his hand in my hair, his tumb caressing my scalp. I was in love with this man. This experience had not made me think any different. On the contrary.   
After a while Daryl pulled out of me and removed the condom. He threw it across the cell where it hit the trashcan in the corner perfectly. ”Every time, Daryl! Every time!” Rick sighed exasperated. Daryl smirked, apparently proud of his aiming skills. He laid down again. Stuck one arm under my shoulders and pulled me into him so I rested my head on his chest. I looked behind us and saw that Rick was looking at us, letting Daryls long hair slip through his fingers. For a while we just were there, in that quiet cell. My eyelids started feeling very heavy. ”I should get back to my cell” I said quietly. I needed to process this and I wanted to be alone to do so. Rick said ”Yeah, as nice as this is and as accepting everyone in the group are, I doubt they are ready for a open three way-realationship yet” and he smiled at the thought.   
I started getting up. Damn, I was sore and I was sporting a violent beard-rash. Someone was bound to notice this in the morning. I slowly got my pants and shirt on again. Daryl got up and reached into a box and pulled out a clean pair of sock, threw at me and said ”Get these damn socks on, not walking around outthere barefoot, I told you”. I was oddly moved by this. He cared. As I was getting ready to leave for my own cell, I looked at the men and was trying to figure out what to say. Daryl beat me to it ”Ill walk you to your cell” ”Daryl, it’s just down the landing” I said. ”Well, couldn’t have you get lost” was his reply and I knew better than to object further. I looked at Rick who smiled that kind warm smile at me. I smiled back and lifted the curtain at the cell-door.   
When we reached my cell, I turned to say…something. ”Not now” Daryl said. ”You need to get some sleep” and he kissed me in the most chaste way possible. ”Good night” He turned and walked back quietly towards his and Ricks cell.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

I woke up with a dull throb between my legs. It had been a long time since I’d felt that kind of delicious pain. Immidiately it brought my thoughts back to the events during the night and I had to let out a little moan while I smiled to myself. I didn’t have any expectations of this ever happening again but I would cherish the memory of it. Daryl was…well, he was everything I could have expected and more. I stayed in my bunk a bit to mull over the what had happened. Finally I decided that I’d better get my butt up and in gear. As I walked down the stairs to the main area, I knew Id be able to feel the nightly adventure for the reminder of the day. As long as I didn’t look as obvious as Rick sometimes did, then I’d be happy. On several occasions the rest of the group had had to hidetheir smiles when Rick came down the stairs very carefully in the morning, sitting perched on the end of the chair. What was even more amusing was the extremly careful way that Daryl did not react. He was so intend on not seeming different than on any other morning that it became quite comical.  
The main area was almost empty. I supposed most of the others had taken their activities outside. I could see Daryl were working on some wooden shelves above the sinks. Carol had long requested more storage space there. There was a strange sound. And next to the stairs Glenn and Maggie were…I couldn’t see what they were doing. They seemed to be clinging to eachother and…spoting the strangest expressions, almost pained. I started asking what was going on and they hushed me feverishly. Again I noticed that sound…was that Daryl…singing? ”What is that?” I asked Glenn. ”Well, I do believe that is Daryls version of Cool & The Gangs ”Get Down On It”, he snorted and he and Maggie broke into hysterical giggles. Daryl couldn’t help but notice us now. He turned around abruptly, looked at us, huffed and stalked off.  
At lunch I was standing in line behind Hershel, waiting for my turn to put a portion of chilibeans on to my plate. I hated chilibeans with a passion. Those white beans when you accidentially chewed into them, felt like flour was inside. But its wasn’t as if there was anything else to choose from and we all ate what was there. We couldn’t allow not to. Hershel was a little slow ’cause he had to wrestle his plate along with his crutches at the same time. I knew better than to try to help. Hershel was very frim on wanting to do everything by himself. So I just patiently waited.   
Daryl really was quiet as a cat when he wanted to be and he seemed to want to be most of the time. I hadn’t heard or noticed him moving up behind me at the table before I suddenly heard him saying ”Hi” very close to my ear, close enough that I could feel his breath. Immidiately I broke out into goosebumps all over. ”Hi there” I replied, not the most intelligent of answers but I could feel his body very close to mine and intelligence wasn’t something I was prone to when he was close. He leaned past me when Hershel started moving. I just assumed he would cut infront of me. Instead he moved his hand up, just underneath the hem of my t-shirt and let his fingertips brush across my abdomen. I dropped my plate into the bowl of beans with a huge clatter. He’d moved away again so no one had noticed what had happened and we we standing with our backs to the room anyways. So everyone just heard me throwing around plates and looked up. Of course I was blushing like a mad woman. I could hear Daryl chuckle as he moved away to the stairs where he sat down next to Hershel. Damn that man! I was seriously making a fool of myself. I knew that Rick knew ’cause when I’d fished my plate out of the bowl and moved towards the long table where we had most of our meal, it was Ricks eyes I met right away. He smiled lightly and shook his head.  
It was also Rick who spoke to me when we’d all more or less finished our meal. I’d ended up sitting next to Rick on the spot that were usually Daryls. We hadn’t spoken much. Now he leaned into me and said quietly ”Well, you are about as subtle as…a hit to the face with a shovel!” He smiled at me when I turned to look at him. He smiled to take the sting out of his words. I suppose I kinda had been oggling Daryl as he was straddling a chair so he could face Hershel while they were talking. I just had such a hard time looking away from him when he for once was in the same in the same place for more than a few minutes at a time. The way he was sitting, straddling the chair, made his vest with the angelwings slide up a bit so there was a visible bit of skin showing. ”Can’t say that I blame you” Rick continued. ”I do the same thing myself as Im sure you’ve all noticed. I had to smile a bit ’cause yeah, everyone had noticed the way Rick would go into a tranfixed stage when Daryl wasn’t noticing him looking. ”Daryl’s always telling me my eyes will fall out. He genuinely doesn’t understand why anyone would enjoy looking at him” I once again looked at daryl and shook my head lightly. I knew that Daryl wasn’t aware of his own appeal but at least now it seemed that Rick and I had somehow bonded over it. I’d bonded with Rick over oggling his man….


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

When everyone got ready to leave for whatever daily duties they had, I suddenly remembered something that had been playing at the outskirts of my mind for a while. ”Bees!” I exclaimed. Once again I’d made my group look at me like I was loosing it. ”Bees?” Rick asked bemused. ”Well, it’s something Ive been thinking about for a while. My sister….” I stopped mid-sentense. Neither of us talked about our families before the turn. We hardly talked about the people we’d lost after the turn. It was too difficult. Rick reached out and gave my shoulder a squeeze. ”My sister use to keep bees. I was thinking that perhaps we could build a couple of bee-hives and try to find some wild bees and move them in. It would be nice if we didnt have to rely on the little sugar you guys find on the runs” There was hardly any sugar to be found anymore and we all craved what little sweet we could get. It would be nice to have honey to put in our tea as well. ”That’s a great idea but is it as easy as that? Daryl asked. We all knew that Daryl and Carl were craving sugar like none of the rest of us. ”I don’t think its too difficult. Ive seen how they are tended to” I replied. Hershel cleared his throat ”Well, my neighbour was a bee-keeper. Im sure his bee-hives and all his equipment is still there. If the hives are no longer functioning, perhaps they are still sufficient so we could see how they are made. Only I expect that it would take at least 4 hours to get there from here, if nothing unexpected happens” We were all thinking about this. We never liked anyone from our little group to head out that far from the prison. Both because it took a lot of gas and that wasn’t exactly easy to come by. And because we never knew who or what the people on the run could run into. ”Lets think about this” Hershel finished this off and the group disintegrated.  
Later that day I brought two cuos of tea out to the prison yard. It wasn’t exactly a warm day but if you managed to find a corner where the wind couldn’t reach you, then it was nice. I’d spotted Rick sitting in such a spot with Judith playing with some stuffed animals on a blanket infront of him. I sat down next to him and handed him one of the cups. Judith was drooling happily on a neon-green giraff. I smiled at her. She was such a happy child. Hardly ever cried and she had no clue that the world could be different or better than what she was destined to grown up in.  
”You okay?” Rick said and looked at me. ”Yeah. Im okay. You?” He smiled at me. ”You look like you have something on your mind, Brigitte” I looked at Daryl and Carl out in the field. Daryl was teaching Carl the basics of cross bow shooting. It was still a little too heavy for Carl so most of the bolts he fired ended up in the ground. Every time Daryl laughed and Carl would punch him in the chest. Rick was watching them as well. The look on his face was a look of such love that my heart pulled tight when I saw it. ”Those two and this little girl are my life” he said. ”The reason I believe we still have a future. That we still must try to be decent people” He turned around to face me ”I know how you feel about Daryl. I know cause I see you looking at him like I did when I fell in love with him” I almost choked on my breath. I hadn’t believed I was that obvious and would he be mad at me? ”I don’t blame you. How could I?” he chuckled and pointed his arm out towards Daryl and Carl who’d now abandoned practicing and instead started throwing dirt, grass, sticks what ever they could get their hands on, on eachother. Rick sighed but looked happy. ”But how can you be okay with it? With my feeling this way about Daryl? …And what we did last night?” I asked, not even sure that I actually wanted an answer. I was beginning to think that he wouldn’t answer my desperate mix of questions. For a while he just continued to look at Daryl and Carl. ”Nothing is normal about the world anymore” he began. ”Nothing about how we live and what we have to do to survive is normal. I was so straight you wouldn’t believe it. I know you never saw what Lori and I had when it was good between us and it was good for many years. I never once thought I’d ever fall in love with anyone else. Certainly not so quickly after she died. And most deffinately not with a man…and that someone so…difficult as Daryl” he smiled when he said the last bit. Like Daryl being difficult was one of his most endearing features which I strangely agreed on. ”I stopped questioning why this happened. It just did. Daryl is everything I want. He makes me want to be a better man and father, to use a cliché. Back when things were normal, perhaps I would even have done a doubletake if I’d seen a cop holding hands with a redneck. Now it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter what was normal ’cause it isn’t anymore. What is important is us being the best we can towards eachother. Daryl has been looking at you.” Speaking of doubletakes, I think I did a trippletake when Rick said this. I had not noticed this. I never had the impression until the previous day that Daryl had any interest in me besides not wanting me to go on the runs. ”He has?” I asked. ”Yeah, I noticed a while back. He didn’t say anything until I flat out asked him ’cause he didn’t want to hurt my feelings. What Daryl and I have wont break by introducing someone into our relationship. Someone whom we both like and care for. This isn’t about us losing anything in our relationship. It’s about gaining something. Hopefully for you too if you want to do this.” he finished off. ”The thing is- Rick, I still don’t know what THIS is. How is it going to be? Me sneaking in and out of your cell, pretending during the day, you sitting back to watch…” Rick wasn’t the blushing type but he actually did blush a bit at the last part. He looked down at Judith. ”I can’t promise you that we will all end up sharing a cell or that it will ever be as open as Daryl and I are. But I can promise you, this isn’t just for the sex, that we both genuinly care for you. About the last part…. Again, nothing is normal anymore. Before the turn I was the most conservative man around. I was the furthest from a voyeur. Never thought it would do anything for me…but what i saw last night was…well, it did certainly do something for me” he said with a sly smile that made me blush feverishly. He continued ” If at some point you ever feel comfortable with it, yes- I’d be lying if I said that I wouldn’t like to join you. For now Im happy to watch though”  
I sat quietly for a while. Soaking up the warmth of the sunny corner. Judith slapped her giraff across my face and I couldn’t help but laugh which made Daryl turn from his antics with Carl to look at Rick and I. My stomach clenched tight. I wanted this man. I wanted to be allowed to be close to him, to have him look at me like he did last night. No, I didn’t feel the same way about Rick but he wasn’t bad on the eye and like he said, nothing is normal anymore. I turned back to Rick and told him ”Yes, I can do this. I want this and we’ll figure the rest out along the way. When I got up and took his empty mug, my fingers touched his warm hand for a brief moment. I started walking towards the cell block, turned after a few steps ”Oh Rick by the way, did you know that Daryl’s a Kool & the Gang-fan?”


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

I’d been positively bubbly all day since Rick and I talked. I still didn’t feel like I knew more about how this…thing would work. But I’d do my best to figure it out and if I was close to Daryl (and Rick) while doing that, then what did I have to lose, right? Judging from my past experiences and relationships, it wouldn’t be surprising if this turned out to be a big mess. How ever both these men were different to the artsy flimsical types Id often met in my work as a photographer…I hardly ever thought about that anymore. It seemed so unimportant, silly even compared to now, after the turn where the agenda was surviving.   
I never felt like I missed my old life, strangely. I had loved it most of the time but the shallowness, the parties in New York lofts where people mainly came to be seen, the drugs that people took, the indifference and often pompous nature of the people I spend time with, called friends- that I didn’t miss. I didn’t wonder what they were doing, if they were even alive anymore. It was like the door had been closed to something and knowing it wouldn’t ever open again, it was something I was utterly disinterestd in. I knew that I hadn’t formed friendships as close as some of the people in this little group. But I still knew any of them would put their lives on the line for me. Most of them already had and I’d do the same for them. Yes, I wish we were safe all the time. That we didn’t have to worry about walkers or even other survivors. That we always had enough to eat, didn’t have to worry about health issues etc. But I didn’t want to trade my group to go back to my old life.   
These were some of the things I’d spend the day thinking about when we sat down to dinner that evening. Something popped up in my mind. Something I may very likely have done before the turn if Id been at a party and had my eye on someone. I would never have thought to do anything like this now. The group-dynamic wasn’t like that. But Daryl had made me make a fool out of myself that morning, by making me through my plate into the chilibeans. I sat across the table from him and Rick. I was very careful not to look at any of them as I slid off my boot and let myself sink into the chair a bit. I found Daryls boot with my foot. He looked a bit startled but we always sat quite close at the table so it wasn’t the first time someone got kicked. When I started slowly sliding my foot up his cargo clad leg, I could see out the corner of my eye, his head snapping up to look at me. I pretended to listen carefully to what Glenn, Beth and Hershel were talking about. I slowly made my way up his leg until my toes were resting on the edge of the seat between his legs. I could feel him staring at me, squirming a lttle bit. I still didn’t look at him. Rick shot him a questioning look. After a little while I moved my foot up and rested it on his crotch. Daryl dropped his fork. Around the table we all looked at him but the conversation picked up again. Rick put his hand on Daryls arm as if to ask what was up. I started carressing his crotch with my toes, making him twitch a bit and move in his seat. Rick looked down and saw my foot, looked up and straight into my eyes. He literally snorted as he tried to strangle his laugh. He then leaned back and put his arm on the back of Daryls chair. Apparently he was enjoying seeing his stoic man twitch and squirm. I soon started feeling a bit of movement in the bulge between his legs. Yes! I was deffinately enjoying myself. Every time Daryl moved and shoot me dagger-eyes across the table, Rick snorted. Eventually Hershel picked up on Ricks noises and said: ”Rick, I want to you come by my cell later. I have some saltwater nose-spray. I don’t want you to catch a sinus-infection”. It took all my restraint to not laugh out loud. Apparently Rick couldn’t handle more either ’cause he winked at me, got up and took his plate to the sinks. Daryl took his cue from this, shot up from the chair and stakled towards the cells, huffing and shaking his head.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 11  
When I woke up the next morning it was with a big knot in my stommach. I really dreaded having to go out on that long run, even if it meant spending quite some hours alone with Daryl and Rick. I was getting myself ready, packing some water etc when Rick came into my cell. ”Morning” he said and smiled at me. ”Yeah…” I replied. ”Listen” he said while looking at me firmly ”I know you are really scared and that’s probably the most sensible feeling when going out there but I promise you that Daryl and I will do everything possible to get us out and back again safely. Daryl is loading the car right now with every possible and impossible item that we may need. I want you to know that he is taking this very seriously. He is the man you want to protect you outthere.” I sighed ”I know. I just freaking hate those things!” Rick laughed out loud. ”Yeah, don’t we all! There is something I should warn you about though. We wont make it back tonight.” My breath got caught in my throat. ”Not make it….”. ”No, it will take us 3 to 4 hours to get up there, depending on the state of the road and we have to figure if we can even access the property. Then we can start finding the hives and figure out how not to get our asses stung:” I don’t know why it caught me by surprise that it would be an overnight affair. At the back of my mind I knew that we would have to wait until nightfall before we could lock up one of the hives with all the bees inside. They always came back to the hive before it became dark. And I knew it would be suicide trying to drive back 3-4 hours in the dark. I suppose Id just not wanted to think about it. ”Daryl will make this as comfortable as possible” Rick said ”You know he is like the ultimate woods man, survival action guy ever!” I knew he was trying to lighten my mood. I sighed. There was no way around it. I grabbed my bag ”Well, if that’s how its gonna be, we might as well get going”.   
When we drove out of the gates, I had to stop myself from looking back at the rest of the group who stayed behind. I didn’t want to look back at them like I wouldn’t see them again. I was glad that I had the backseat to myself with the guys upfront. I needed a bit of time to get my racing heart down to a normal rate. I knew Daryl was looking at me in the rear mirror. I took a deep breath and found his eyes in the mirror and send him a little smile. As we went off from the dirt road that lead to the prison on to the real road, he and Rick looked at eachother and simultaniously shouted ”Road trip!” and high fived. I looked back and forth between them disbelievingly. How old were these guys?


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

For while we drove without incident. I actually even started relaxing a bit. We hardly saw any walkers in the landscape. There were of course cars scattered along the roads, most had been left with open doors and contents spilling out on to the asphalt. The guys were talking quietly in the front. I could feel Daryls eyes on me in the rear view mirror from time to time. I noticed how often he and Rick were touching eachother, a hand to the arm, a squeeze to the knee. Rick even let his hand carress Daryls cheek at one point. I realised that these runs where it was just the two of them, must be like a breath of fresh air for them. Not that they were hiding at the prison but they were not nearly as openly affectionate with eachother as what I saw right now. I felt warm inside with a strange….pride, I suppose, that they were comfortable enough with me to let me be part of this.   
At some point Daryl asked Rick to find a cassette in the glove department but stated ”And Im not listening to Bruce Springsteen again! Find something else!” Rick muttered to himself while going through the tapes that Daryl ought to show respect for The Boss and he wouldn’t be listening to any of the hillbilly rock that Daryl always picked out. Eventually he found a tape and put in in the stereo. It turned out to be a mix of 80s pop songs. It had been so long since Id listened to other music than the songs Beth sometimes sang for us. I leaned back and enjoed it. Rick turned to look at me and smiled so the tiny wrinkles around his eyes showed. Id never really noticed how attractive that was until now.  
At one point we stopped next to a Gray Hound bus. Daryl told me to stay put in the car as he and Rick went through it to see if there was anything to be salvaged. I couldn’t see any walkers around but I felt extremly tense as they guys went through bags and suitcases. I knew they were being careful but I still didn’t like them disappearing behind the bus, out of my sight. It appeared that we were lucky. The guys could go through the bus, the luggage without being interrupted by walkers. Daryl even managed to siphon quite some cans of gas from the bus. We had enough gas with us to get us to our destination and back again but gas was rare to come by and every little bit would come in handy at one time or the other.   
I was very relieved when they came back to the car and loaded up what they had found. Daryl dropped a bag in my lap ”Hershel will be really happy about this” he said. I opened the bag, it was filled to the brim with medicine, some perscription, some over the counter. Hershel would deffinately be happy to add this to our medicine stash.   
We continued our journey. I could feel a shift in the atmosphere. We had reached an area where none of the runs had taken the guys before and they were now on full alert. I looked at them from my spot in the backseat. They were like a well-oiled team, Daryl scanning the left side of the road as well as keeping an eye on the road behind us in the mirrors. Rick did the same with the right side. They didn’t have to talk about it, they just did it like they knew what the other one would do. Complete trust.   
Daryl suddenly started slowing down. I jolted to an upright position. ”Easy” he said, ”I think we’re getting close to the gravel road that Hersel talked about.” And sure enough up ahead there was an oldfashioned mailbox leaning to the side, marking an almost invisible road. Rick turned to me and said ”We will take it very easy up the road and when we approach thehouse, we will stay in the car while we see if anything moves. If it seems clear, then you are staying in the car while we check things out. This is not up for debate!” I could just nod ’cause I knew Id represent more of a risk to them than anything remotely helpful if I left the car before the all clear.  
We went slowly up the long gravel road. Everything was quiet. We drove through a small forest where the trees would soon lose their leaves. It must be a beautiful place in the spring when everything was light green and lush. As we pulled out of the forest we could see a small white painted farm-house in the far end of the fields. I think my heart skipped a beat. It looked so much like Hershels farm-house, only on a much smaller scale. I hadn’t dared thinking about what it looked like at Hershels place now after we’d had to escape the enormous herd. Daryl stopped the car right outside the forest. We sat there for a while. The guys scanned the landscape, looked at the house through the binoculars they’d brought. ”What do you think?” Daryl said to Rick. ”It doesn’t look like anyone are around the house, the fields are empty as well. Should we try rolling a bit closer?” Rick replied still looking at the house. As we came closer I could see the shutters were closed, there were rocking chairs on the poarch and some dead plants in pots along the frontside. It was somehow quite eri. The sun was out and it looked like any other day in the beginning of autumn. It looked undisturbed which was not something we saw anymore. Nothing moved as we slowly pulled to a stop infront of the house. I felt like I was sitting on needles. I was so prepared for walkers coming around the corner towards us. After sitting quietly for a while, Rick turned to look at me. ”You stay put until we come back” and with that they both left the car. Rick moved up on the poarch and looked through the shutters inside. Daryl went around the house, the cross bow ready. There was a small barn that was far enough from the house for the guys not to worry about it. Their focus was the house ’cause hopefully we could spend the night there. Daryl came around the corner and went up on the poarch to Rick. They spoke quietly and then Rick tried the door. Apparently it was open. I sat there, alone in the car in what felt like forever. I tried to convince myself that as long as I didn’t hear anything from the house, then all was good. It was just so strange how untouched everything looked. Suddenly Daryl came out the door and walked to the car. He opened the door and leaned in. Smiling. ”It literally looks like they just upped and left. Everything is almost prestine inside” he said, coming in a little further and planted a kiss on my lips. ”Come on!” he went around to the back of the car and hauled out a few bags and then waited for me to get out of the car. He walked behind me all the way up the poarch and inside the house. I stopped and looked around. It was like stepping into another world. A time-pocket of sorts. Quilts on the sofa, an old small tv, knick-knack on the selves, a fireplace with a log as a mantelpiece which held various family photographs, white cotton curtains, coloured rugs on the floor. A livingroom that looked inviting, warm, like the people who had lived here had enjoyed opening their home to family and friends. It looked like they hadn’t tried to flee or to make their home safer. If it wasn’t for the dust and the dead plants on the windowsills, these people could have left yesterday. Daryl closed the door behind us and dropped the bags on the floor. I could heard footsteps upstairs. Ricks. Daryl moved in behind me and put his arms around my waiste, he burried his face in my hair and breathed in. ”See, I told you we would get here in one piece” he said while I got goosebumps up and down my arms from feeling his warm breath on my neck. I leaned into him and allowed myself to relaxe. Rick came down the stairs and smiled when he saw us. ”Its a really small place. Downhere it’s just this room, the kitchen, a small pantry and a back entrance. Upstairs its the bedroom and a bathroom” he explained. ”We will be comfortable here for the night…oh and Daryl spotted the bee hives out the back. Some of them are a mess but still have bees coming in and out of them.” I nooded. ”Can we go and have a look?” I asked, knowing that they wouldn’t let me go outside alone, not that I’d want to. Daryl replied ”Sure but we we move the bookshelves infront of the entrance first, that way we have control over the only way into the house.” He and Rick started pushing the shelves infront of the door. I felt bad for the room. A strange feeling. But it all looked so right in the this room and moving the shelves seemed wrong. Of course it was a reasonable safety precaution.   
In the back room I spotted some white beekeeper outfits with the net-hats and all. We would deffinately have to bring some of those back with us. Other things like a smoker, some books on beekeeping and other things that would be handy if this should be a success, were placed neatly on shelves. I looked at the guys and smiled ”This is awesome! I recognize most of these things” I said. As we went outside I could see that neglect and weather conditions had taken its toll on the 10 or so hives. Most were completely rotten. Some were rotten but still somewhat functional. Two were still in good condition. Because autumn was approaching fast the bees flying in and out where slow and clumpsy. Soon they would go into hypernation. ”I think if we get the smoker going as evening falls, we can get the critters calm enough to close up one of the hives. I don’t think we can fit more than one in the car as it is when we also want to bring the equipment.”   
I was getting quite excited about this. This could mean that I could do more to pull my part. I think I could with some practice even make wax candles which would be amazing later on when it became more difficult to find batteries and other candles.  
Rick was apparently really excited to show my something and dragged me by the arm a little further up the hill where the hives stood. An orchard. An oldfashioned orchard with trees where the branches hung heavy with apples. ”We will have to fit come crates in the car somehow” he said. It will be so awesome to bring back fresh apples.” He was so excited that it was actually quite funny.  
”I discovered something even better” Daryl said, looking quite smugly at Rick, like he wanted to top the apples. These guys were like 12 year olds. They might be alpha males to the core but apparently just behind the core there is a childish competative boy! ”The hot water is run on solar-power so we can shower tonight” Yeah, as much as I enjoyed my apples, I did enjoy hot showers more so I guess Daryl won.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

”Ill go and check out that little barn to see if we can find some crates for Ricks apples” Daryl said. Rick wanted to go with him to watch his back and I went back inside to figure out which of the beekeeping tools we’d want to bring home with us. It didn’t take too long so I went to check out the little pantry to see if there was anything worth hauling dome and perhaps even something we could eat for dinner so Daryl wouldn’t have to go hunting. The pantry turned out to be a little gem. Shelves filled with canned food, pickeled food, sugar and flour in sealed plastic containers. I didn’t know how we were gonna fit all this into the car along with the beehive and equipment. But it would be such a shame to leave any of this behind.   
Suddenly I heard a car engine. My heart leaped into my throat. The guys were still in the barn. What if it was the owners of the house? Or someone else who turned out nasty? I ran into the livingroom and peaked out through the shutters. It was a truck. As it came closer I sighed in relief ’cause I could see Rick and Daryl in the truck. They drove around the house to the back. I went outthere to see what was going on. Daryl jumped out and said ”Look what we found! We ditch the other car. In this one we can have the beehive, the equipment and Ricks apples.” ”It isn’t my apples, you jackass!” Rick said goodnatured. ”Well, I checked out the pantry and there are so much good stuff we should pack up as well” I replied.   
We spend the reminder of the afternoon packing the pantry-stuff on the truck. As the weather was so nice we sat out back and shared some of the canned fruit for dinner. We didn’t talk much but the silence wasn’t awkward. I really enjoyed the time I got to spend with these two.   
As dusk approached I felt it was time to test my bee calming skills. I attempted to get the smoker going, without success. Daryl took over and got it going right away. He looked at me with a smirk. Rick looked at me and said ”See! Now you know what Im dealing with!” Daryl replied ”What?!” with fake innocence. ”Yeah, you are like the Chuck Norris of open air living and when the rest of us aren’t as skilled, you mock us with that silence” Rick said. ”Come on! How can I be mocking when Im not even saying anything”….I let them continue their friendly bickering. I had to get into the white protective outfit. It was of course much too big for me. I felt like the Michelin man. Daryl and Rick came outside so I wouldn’t be alone. I kinda wished they hadn’t cause they had a hard time containing their laugh. Yeah, I knew I looked ridiculous but better look ridiculous than being stung all over by angry bees. I grabbed the net-hat none too gently from Daryl, huffed at them and walked towards the hives. Id already decided that we should only take the one hive that was in the best condition. I was quite scared of the bees so I started waving the smoker around long before I reached the hive. Once again I could hear the guys snicker behind me. Those two would be the end of me. I approaced the hive with more selfconfidence than I felt. The bees were crawling around on the little entrance. I blew some smoke at them and they slowly went inside. More smoke through the entrance. I waited a bit and carefully lifted the lid a bit and blew in more smoke. I would not be taking any chances. The bees crawled around drowsily. The hive looked surprisingly good on the inside. Lots of wax and honey from the look of it. I put down the lid again and found the machanism that slid the little door infront of the entrance to the hive. Those bees would be angry come morning. But now they could be transported safely back to the prison.   
I took a deep breath of relief and turned around did a litlle curtsy for the guys ”And that is how it’s done!” I said.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

Later after Id been the last one in the shower and Daryl had established that the bed in the only bedroom was plenty big for all three of us, I was towelling my hair dry when Rick came in with three steamning mugs. ”Real Earl Grey with real sugar” he informed us. That was deffinately a rare treat. We’d found several boxes of different tea in the pantry. Tea was my addiction from the old world. I just loved the hot sweet drink. Id gotten the most out of being the last one in the shower. Really relished that I didn’t have to ration the hot water but could just stand there until it started getting colder. And being in a real bathroom with real tiles, fluffy towels, a wide selection of shower products. That was a welcome change from the open showers in the prison.   
I sat down in a comfy armchair in the corner of the bedroom. Daryl had stripped down to his pants and was popped up against the headboard. The bed was an oldfashion white wrought iron kind, quite romantic actually. Somehow Daryl looked rather out of place there on the flowered bedspread but still he was so clearly comfortable, that I couldn’t help but smile into my tea. ”What?” he demanded. ”Nothing” I said ”just you in this” I waved my arm around the very femine room. ”Well, get overhere and keep me company then” he replied. I emptied my mug and sat it on the carpet. I didnt quite know how to get into the bed when I got overthere. If Daryl wanted me to get in between him and Rick or to sit next to him. He decided for me by pulling me none too gently across him so I fell down in the middle of the bed, not very elegantly. I huffed a bit and pulled myself up so I sat next to him and we were bumping shoulders. Rick were laying down, leaning against the foot of the bed, still enjoying his tea.   
Daryl ran his fingers lightly up and down the soft sensitive skin on the inside of my lower arm. Almost not touching, yet it send little sparks through my nerve endings. I loved being touched by that man. Even if it was just something he did absentmindedly. I turned to him and kissed his ear, that earned me smile from both him and Rick. They continued talking quietly about all and nothing. I sorta zoned out, just enjoyed Daryls touch, the humming of their voices, the feeling of this warm safe cave with the two of them. I think I was almost asleep when Daryl moved against me. Putting his finger under my chin, turning my head up and leaned in for a kiss. I had kissed men with beards before but not anyone with a beard as soft as Daryls. I loved the way it added an extra touch to the feeing of the kiss. I knew this wasn’t just a goodnight kiss. This situation, the privacy of this house was too good to waste. It was somewhat ridiculous to how fast I went from nearly asleep to arroused to the point of catching fire. I leaned into the kiss and pulled Daryl closer. A little sad when he broke it but he continued to kiss me behind my ear, down my neck. It wasn’t as much kisses as him making little wet circles with his tounge. When he moved to a new area on my neck, I could feel the wet mark dry off. I wanted him to kiss me again as much as I enjoyed this but apparently Daryl had other ideas and I had learned quickly that Daryl was the one in control. He got up on his knees and grabbed me by mine and pulled me down in one swift movement so I was now flat on my back. Then he moved ot open my shirt. Every time he opened one button, he leaned in to kiss the exposed skin. I let my nails scrape his scalp lightly, making him hum from pleasure. When my shirt was open he moved to pull it off. To save him the trouble, I sat up and removed it myself, as well as unclasping my bra and throwing both on the floor. ”A little impatient, are we?” he smirked. ””Shut up” I replied and pulled him in for a kiss and felt his warm chest settle on mine. How could he always feel like he had a fire burning under his skin? He kissed me like I was the last living person in the world. Making me feel like I was the only living person in the world. Then he broke the kiss and cupped my breasts with his hands, planted a kiss on each of them and continued kissing me down my stommach. Oh….he was going to…oh…little bites on the soft sensitive skin on my inner thighs. All the while he kept eyecontact with me. Daryl wasn’t big on eye contact which made it even more intense and intimate. When his mouth, his lips and his tongue reached my intimate parts, I had to close my eyes and arched my back. I don’t even notice myself doing it until Daryll grabbed both of my buttocks and pulled me towards him, towards his mouth. Towards what was sending lightning bolts through my body. I felt my legs starting to shake and I grabbed at the sheets to find something to keep me grounded. I accidentially grabbed…Ricks leg. I had totaly forgotten him being there. I looked at him sitting popped up at the foot of the bed. I could see that he was nowhere unaffected by what he saw but somehow he had this sad look about him. He looked lost somehow. I made an instant decision. I pulled Daryls hair gently but making sure he came up towards me. I kissed him, tasted myself on his mouth and felt that familiar wonderful pull low in my body. Then I eased out from under him and put my hand on Ricks leg. He looked at me, questioningly. I slid my hand up his leg and moved up so I straddled him. He looked at me as if he didn’t know what to think or where to look. I moved in and bend down and put my lips on his, just barely. I held completly still until I felt his lips started moving against mine and slowly let my tongue meet his. He moved both his hands up my back and started leaning into the kiss more. I could feel his arousal where I straddled him. I knew that he would let me make the first move as to getting him involved. Now was as good a time as any, maybe even the right time ’cause we didn’t have to worry about being disturbed. We could find out way through this without the fear of someone walking in on us.   
Rick could kiss! I’d never wondered like I had with Daryl, how he kissed. But was very soft and gentle, even when he put his hands in my hair and pulled me closer. I slid my hands up his t-shirt and moved to pull it off. He was so different from Daryl. He was thinner, hadn’t filled out as much as some of us after our food resources had become more frequent. His chest was covered just right in hair that was growing slightly silvered. I broke the kiss and licked my way down his chest and started undoing his pants. I was surprised at myself, how much I wanted this. I palmed him through his boxers, while smiling a bit to myself. Of course Rick was a boxers kind of man. I heard him sigh a little bit when I blew hot air at him through the fabric. I pulled at his pants a little bit and he got up to take them and his boxers off and threw them at the floor. He sat back down and leaned against the headboard. His cock was heavy and laying up agains his stommach. I began to crawl towards him. He looked at me, seriously and said ”Are you sure you wanna do this? You shouldn’t feel pressured or anything like that.” I loved that he was so sweet and was making sure that I was okay. And yes, I certainly did want to do this! I kissed his chest and slowly worked my way down. Nipping, scraping my teeth against his skin. When I reached the hipbone and let my tongue run the lenght of its sharpness, Rick hitched a little bit. Oh I liked that sound! I switched to his other hip, giving it the same treatment. I could feel his cock twitching a bit against my chest. I let my nails scrape slowly up his innerthighs which earned me a soft moan. Once again I felt so concious about us not having to be quiet here. I took his balls in one hand and rolled them gently as I felt them pull tight.I decided to go all in and carefully took them in my mouth and pulled a little bit. ”Oh my God, oh…” I head Rick pant and when I looked up, I saw Daryl kissing him passionatly. Rick may have thought that I was doing him a favour but looking up at those two amazing men kissing, nearly did me in. It was so amazingly hot! I couldn’t help but moan a bit myself at the sight. The vibrations of that went over quite well as Rick broke the kiss and leaned his head back against the wall. Letting go of his balls, I moved up and grabbed hold of his firm and throbbing cock. Holding it up, I could zigzag my tongue back and forth across the thick vain on the back of it from the root all the way up. I gave the tip and the slit a quick lick, tasting the pre-cum and put my lips on the tip. Letting them slide slowly over the head while swirling my tongue around it. Very soon Rick was panting in earnest. He started moving my head away when he was close to coming but I’d already decided that I was in for the whole experience and soon he came down my throat with a loan moan. Id hardly swallowed the last bit of it before Daryl grabbed my arm and pulled me towards him and kissed me senseless. Somewhere along the way he had dropped his pants and put a condom on. He pulls back from the kiss and says in a strangled voice ”Fuck, Rick! I can taste you on her!” then he pushes me none to gently down so Im flat on my stommach on the bed. I somehow expected this to be a little rough but as he sprads my legs, he begins to place light kisses down my back while he is nuzzling my hair. I bend my head backwards and he gets the message and kisses me again while he slowly enters me. This isn’t sex, this is lovemaking, I think.   
When he starts trusting, it is so agonizinly slow that I think Im loosing my mind. I try to push my hips against him to get him to move faster but apparently that is not at all what he has in mind. He keeps the slow pace up while he kisses my back, leans in and nibble my ear, puts his nose in my hair. Never once does he move fast or hard. When I come, I literally see stars exploding infront of my eyes. I can’t help but sob a few times. That was the most amazing slow-build orgasm Id ever had. Daryl trusts a few more times until he tenses up, shakes a bit and groan loudly into my neck. Then he slowly sinks down on me, his chest to my back. I can feel that we slide a little against eachother as we are both sweating. He breathes heavily against the skin on my neck and Im just overwhelmed by the feeling of his warm little huffs. This is almost too much! ”Shit, Daryl” I say. Rick whispers ”Yeah, you said it!” Daryl sniggers a little bit as he rolls off me, obviously quite pleased with himself. My limbs are almost too heavy to move but I roll over to my side facing Daryl. Rick is at my back. I reach out and touch Daryls face. I pretend to not notice the near invisible flinch at my touch. I knew it wasn’t me. It was just habbit on his part. For a while none of us say anything. Then Rick slides up close to me, spooning me. He reaches over me to touch Daryls face as well. ”What is the matter with my face that you two have to be all over it?” Daryl huffs. But its not serious. Instead he leans in, give me a kiss and get up on his elbow so he can lean over me and kiss Rick. ”Now, sleep!” he says ”But we are so coming here again at one point” and pulls the comforter up over all of us.

**Author's Note:**

> This is my very first attempt at a fan fic. Im hugely inspired by the romantic relationship of Daryl and Rick. I find them very inspirering.  
> Also English isnt my first language so please dont get annoyed about spelling, grammar or typing mistakes. Response would be appriciated :)


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